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Discourse  delivered  at 

1 

Vllliarastown,June  S9th.l886. 

MarK  HopKins. 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


IP  a78  3Sll^ 


DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED  AT  WILLIAMSTOWN 

June  29,  1886 


ON  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  HIS 

ELECTION  AS  PRESIDENT  OF 

WILLIAMS  COLLEGE 


MARK  HOPKINSyD.D.,  LL.D.) 


BX-FBESIDE 


NEW  YORK 

CHABLES    SCRIBNEK'S    SONS 

1886 


HI 


COPTBIOHT,  1886,  BY 

CHABLES  SOKIBNER'S  SONS 


mow* 

PttlNTINa  AND  eoOKaiNDINO  COUPANV. 
N|W  rORK. 


Mr.  President  and  Brethren  Alumni : 

The  American  people  are  mucli  given  to 
the  celebration  of  anniversaries.  To  say 
nothing  of  those  that  recur  annually,  a^ 
the  Fourth  of  July  and  Washington's 
Birthday,  has  a  man  been  married,  or  a 
minister  settled,  five,  or  ten,  or  twenty -five, 
or  fifty  years  ;  has  a  battle  been  fought  at 
one  of  these  intervals ;  has  a  town  been 
settled  or  an  institution  founded  fifty,  or 
a  hundred,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
there  must  be  a  celebration,  a  gathering, 
congratulations,  sometimes  gifts,  some- 
times a  dinner,  always  a  speech. 

From  this  tendency  the  calls  upon  me 
have  been  exceptionally  numerous.  When 
this  College  had  been  founded  fifty  years, 
having  been  for  seven  years  its  president, 


(4) 

I  was  called  upon  by  the  Alumni  for  a 
semi-centennial  address.  Tliat  address  I 
gave  at  Commencement,  in  the  old  church 
on  the  hill  by  the  Mansion  House,  for- 
ty-three years  ago.  The  following  year, 
being  a  native  of  Berkshire,  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  similar  service  at  the  Berk- 
shire Jubilee,  celebrated  at  Pittsfield. 
When  the  American  Board  had  been 
founded  fifty  years,  in  1860,  having  been 
three  years  its  president,  I  was  appointed 
to  give  a  semi-centennial  discourse.  That 
discourse  was  given  in  Boston.  By  the 
appointment  of  the  Alumni  I  gave  a  dis- 
course here  on  the  hundredth  anniversary 
of  American  independence;  also,  by  the 
appointment  of  the  Trustees  on  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Garfield ;  and  now,  when  one  would 
suppose  I  might  be  suffered  to  rest,  I  am 
called  on  by  a  voice  which  I  have  always 
obeyed,  to  give  a  special  discourse  because 


(5) 

it  is  fifty  years  since  I  was  appointed  presi- 
dent. 

In  calling  me  to  this  service  the  Alumni 
did  not,  as  heretofore,  assign  me  a  topic. 
What  shall  it  be  ?  In  view  of  my  long 
connection  with  the  College  and  the  natu- 
ral garrulity  of  age,  I  incline  to  think  you 
will  expect  me,  instead  of  discussing  prin- 
ciples or  metaphysical  points,  to  give  rather 
some  reminiscences  of  that  earlier  history 
of  the  College,  so  much  of  which  I  have 
seen,  and  a  part  of  which  I  have  been. 
This,  if  my  turn  were  in  that  direction,  as 
it  is  not,  my  position  would  enable  me  to 
do  better  than  anyone  else. 

I  have  been  connected  with  this  College 
as  student  and  teacher  sixty-one  years : 
three  years  as  a  student,  two  years  as 
tutor,  six  years  as  professor,  thirty-six 
years  as  president,  and  now  again  fourteen 
years  as  professor,  but  without  responsi- 
bility for  the  government  of  the  College. 


(6) 

There  have  thus  been  fifty-six  years  of 
continuous  service.  According  to  the  last 
General  Catalogue  there  are  but  six  gradu- 
ates of  the  College  living  who  graduated 
earlier  than  I  did.  If  we  include  the  pres- 
ent graduating  class,  the  whole  number  of 
the  Alumni  now  living  is  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  twenty-six.  Of  these,  all  except 
thirty-one  have  been  taught  by  me.  I  have 
also  taught  five  hundred  and  thirty-four  of 
the  Alumni  who  have  passed  away :  in  all, 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine.  Deducting  these  from  the  whole 
number  of  the  Alumni,  but  six  hundred 
and  thirty-one  are  left  whom  I  have  not 
taught. 

When  I  entered  college  in  1822  but  one 
of  the  fourteen  college  buildings  now  on 
the  ground  was  standing.  That  was  the 
old  West  College.  The  old  East  College, 
a  larger  and  finer  building  than  the  West 
College,   was  burnt  down  in   1841.     The 


(7) 

other  buildings,  as  I  have  seen  them  arise, 
let  me  have  the  pleasure  of  enumerating. 
They  are  Griffin  Hall,  the  Observatory, 
East  and  South  Colleges,  Kellogg  Hall,  the 
Chapel,  Lawrence  Hall,  Jackson  Hall, 
G-oodricli  Hall,  College  Hall,  the  Field 
Observatory,  Clark  Hall,  Morgan  Hall, 
and  the  Gymnasium.  In  1823  the  College 
owned  but  two  houses:  the  president's 
house,  that  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the 
main  street,  since  moved  and  now  occupied 
by  Professor  S afford,  and  a  small  house 
that  stood  where  the  chapel  now  stands. 
It  now  owns  seven  houses.  The  College 
then  owned  no  land  -  except  about  three 
acres  connected  with  the  then  president's 
house.  It  now  owns  the  land  connected 
with  West  College  and  Kellogg  Hall,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Seth  B.  Hunt ;  also  the  land 
south  of  East  College  as  far  as  the  street, 
presented  by  Mr.  Elizur  Smith,  of  Lee ;  also 
the  large  field  beyond,  recently  purchased 


(8) 

for  a  ball  ground  and  for  athletics.  It 
also  owns  the  very  valuable  grounds  con- 
nected with  the  president's  house,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Jackson,  and  Mission  Park. 
When  I  entered  college  there  was  no 
mineralogical,  geological,  botanical,  or  nat- 
ural history  collection.  Mineralogy  and 
geology  were,  indeed,  but  just  beginning 
to  be  known  as  sciences.  The  same  was 
true  of  chemistry,  and  the  apparatus  for 
that  consisted  of  little  more  than  a  blow- 
pipe and  a  few  retorts.  The  apparatus  for 
physics,  including  optics  and  astronomy, 
was  easily  contained  in  a  single  room  of  the 
common  size  in  East  College.  The  chapel 
was  in  West  College.  That  was  divided 
into  two  equal  parts  by  halls  running  east 
and  west,  and  the  chapel  occupied  the  sec- 
ond and  third  stories  of  the  south  end.  The 
library  occupied  a  single  room  in  the  fourth 
story  of  West  College.  The  rooms  of  the 
students  were   plainly   and   scantily  fur- 


(9) 

nished.  There  was  not  a  carpet  in  either 
building.  Partly,  perhaps,  because  the 
rooms  contained  little  that  was  valuable, 
and  partly  because  of  the  greater  honesty 
of  those  times,  nobody  thought  of  locking 
his  door  when  he  went  out.  Prayers  and 
recitation  were  before  breakfast  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  winter  by  candle-light. 
Commencement  was  in  September,  and  so 
the  town  was  a  resort  for  the  students  in 
the  summer,  and  not  for  summer  visitors, 
a  species  of  the  human  genus  not  then  de- 
veloped. The  long  vacation  of  six  weeks 
was  in  winter,  that  the  students,  who  were 
mostly  needy,  might  aid  themselves  by 
teaching.  Coming  after  the  summer  work 
of  the  farmers  was  finished,  Commencement 
was  a  great  day  for  the  whole  vicinity. 
The  procession  with  its  band  of  music  was 
formed  at  East  College  and  passed  through 
the  lower  hall  of  West  College  to  the  church 
on  the  hill.     It  was  long,  the  struggle  to 


(10) 

enter  the  church  after  the  procession  was 
in  was  fierce,  and  the  church  was  crowded. 
Back  of  the  church  a  multitude  was  gath- 
ered about  numerous  pedlars,  and  there 
were  all  sorts  of  shows. 

The  grounds  about  the  buildings  were 
rough  and  uncared  for.  The  students  burnt 
only  wood,  and  during  the  autumn  and 
winter  there  were  numerous  wood-piles  in 
the  college  yards.  These  the  students  gen- 
erally sawed  and  carried  up  for  themselves. 
In  the  spring  they  had  a  chip-day  to  clear 
away  the  chips  and  rubbish.  The  walk 
between  the  colleges,  and  that  between  the 
"West  College  and  the  church  were  innocent 
of  gravel,  and,  as  the  mud  was  fearful,  the 
students  had,  each  year,  in  the  autumn,  a 
gravel-day.  Those  who  did  not  choose  to 
work  paid  a  fine  that  went  to  procure 
teams.  The  soil  was  clay,  and  in  the  spring 
would  undulate  as  you  walked.  Year  by 
year  the  gravel  would  disappear,  and  it  is 


(11) 

only  within  a  few  years  that  the  walks 
have  become  thoroughly  compact.  There 
were  then  no  trees  about  the  buildings. 
These  were  set  out  by  the  students,  for 
while  there  was  at  that  day  oftener  than  at 
present  an  outbreak  of  the  spirit  of  vandal- 
ism, there  was  yet  a  large  element  of  loy- 
alty to  the  College  and  of  desire  for  its  im- 
provement. Out  of  this  grew  a  Landscape 
Gardening  Association,  founded  by  the 
students  among  themselves,  my  brother 
Albert  and  Tutor  Calhoun  being  members 
and  working  with  them.  This  association 
was  kept  alive  for  several  generations  of 
students,  and  had  regular  meetings  and  ad- 
dresses. Through  its  agency  an  occasional 
tree-day  was  asked,  and  thus  the  trees  be- 
came too  numerous  rather  than  too  few. 
In  this  way  much  was  done  to  beautify  the 
grounds,  but  the  work  was  not  completed  till 
Governor  Knight  gave  the  sum  of  $3,000  for 
that  purpose,  and  to  keep  them  in  order. 


(12) 

It  was  a  feature  of  that  day  that  water 
for  the  students  was  brought  in  pails  from 
a  spring  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  south  of 
East  College,  they  generally  bringing  it 
themselves.  The  first  mitigation  of  this 
hardship  was  by  a  hydraulic  ram  which 
drove  the  water  up  to  the  East  College,  but 
the  evil  was  not  wholly  remedied  till  the 
Cold  Spring  water  was  introduced. 

Such  a  thing  as  a  gymnasium  had  not 
then  been  thought  of.  The  first  one  in 
the  country  was  at  the  Round  Hill  School 
at  Northampton,  taught  by  Messrs.  Coggs- 
well  and  Bancroft — George  Bancroft  the 
historian — and  we  were  the  first  college  to 
move  in  regard  to  it.  I  was  sent,  when  a 
tutor,  to  Northampton  to  see  it,  and  the 
result  was  some  apparatus  in  the  open  air 
south  of  East  College.  I  remember  a 
swing  and  some  parallel  bars.  From  that 
swing  and  those  bars  the  present  gymna- 
sium with  its  clock  has  been   developed 


(13) 

through  several  intermediate  forms,  much, 
I  suppose,  as  the  higher  animals  were  de- 
veloped from  the  lower.  There  were  then 
no  secret  societies.  The  only  one  known 
in  any  of  the  colleges  was  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa.  There  were  no  college  publica- 
tions, and  there  was  no  base-ball  as  that  is 
now  known.  A  form  of  base-ball  was 
sometimes  played,  but  the  common  games 
were  wicket  and  two-old-cat. 

In  those  early  days  the  College  was  sub- 
jected to  severe  struggles.  Its  president 
had  left  to  become  president  at  Amherst, 
and  had  taken  with  him  the  larger  number 
of  students.  Amherst  naturally  drew  the 
students  from  the  region  east  of  the  Hoo- 
sac  Mountain,  and,  besides,  started  with  a 
fund  of  $50,000,  the  income  of  which 
was  to  be  devoted  to  charity  students, 
and  drew  them  away.  Union,  with  the 
great  name  of  Dr.  Nott,  was  just  west 
of  us ;  Middlebury  on  the  north  was  flour- 


(U) 

ishing,  having  more  students  than  Will- 
iams ;  and  Yale  on  the  south.  The  funds 
were  low,  and  adequate  salaries  could 
not  be  given.  The  College  was  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  State  and  difficult 
of  access.  On  the  east,  Hoosac  Moun- 
tain served  as  a  non-conductor  between  us 
and  all  farther  east,  and  from  the  south 
the  only  access  was  over  Stone  Hill.  The 
village  was  small,  neither  Spring  Street 
nor  Park  Street  having  been  opened ;  and 
between  the  colleges,  where  Morgan  Hall 
now  stands,  was  only  a  single  small  brown 
house  with  a  tailor's  shop  in  it.  As  there 
were  no  railroads,  the  centres  of  business 
were  too  remote  to  be  readily  reached  by 
the  professors,  and  the  College  had  no 
means  of  awakening  the  sympathy  and  in- 
terest of  men  of  wealth. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that 
Dr.  Griffin  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
College  the  year  before  I  entered  it ;  and 


(15) 

it  required  strong  faith,  great  energy,  and 
a  wide  reputation  to  do  for  it  what  he  did 
at  the  time  and  subsequently.  He  was  a 
man  of  towering  height,  fine  personal  pres- 
ence, and  great  rhetorical  power ;  and  his 
coming  immediately  gave  new  life  to  the 
College.  His  interest  in  the  College  and 
his  willingness  to  come  arose  largely  from 
a  former  acquaintance  with  Samuel  J. 
Mills,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  College  as 
the  birthplace  of  American  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. He  did  not  much  increase  the  en- 
dowment of  the  College,  but  by  great  ef- 
fort secured  the  funds  to  build  Griffin 
Hall,  originally  used  as  a  chapel  and 
library.  Probably  no  other  man  could 
have  done  what  he  did. 

In  1836  the  health  of  Dr.  Griffin  had 
become  so  impaired  that  he  felt  it  neces- 
sary to  resign,  and  Dr.  Absalom  Peters 
was  chosen  in  his  place.  He  declined  the 
appointment,  and  I  was  chosen.     I  accept- 


(16) 

ed  the  place  at  a  salary  of  $1,100,  having 
previously  had  $700  as  professor.  My 
age  was  thirty-four,  and  I  had  been  Pro- 
fessor of  Rhetoric  and  Moral  Philosophy 
six  years. 

From  this  point  the  College  went  on  with 
moderate  success.  The  faculty  was  small 
in  number,  as  may  be  supposed  when  I  say 
that  for  more  than  twenty  years  I  taught 
all  the  studies  of  the  senior  class,  corrected 
all  their  literary  exercises,  and  preached 
once  every  Sabbath,  there  being  then  two 
sermons  a  day.  I  may  say,  also,  that  dur- 
ing the  whole  period  of  my  presidency  I 
taught  the  larger  part  of  the  studies  of 
the  senior  class.  Of  the  struggles  of  the 
College,  which  were  constant,  I  shall  enter 
into  no  detail  except  at  two  points  that 
seemed  to  be  crises  in  its  history. 

The  first  was  in  1841,  when  the  East 
College  was  burned.  It  was  burned  in  the 
autumn,  was  without  insurance,  and  was  a 


(17) 

total  loss.  Every  room  had  been  occupied, 
and  it  was  feared  that  many  students  would 
leave,  from  the  seeming  impossibility  of 
finding  accommodations.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  for  the  College, 
and  not  one  left.  The  next  j^-ear  the  old 
East  College  was  replaced  by  East  and 
South  Colleges.  But  tbis  rebuilding  meant 
debt,  and  great  discouragement  in  regard 
to  funds.  In  this  emergency,  after  some 
vain  attempts  to  raise  money  by  subscrip- 
tion, it  was  determined  to  ask  aid  from  the 
State.  I  accordingly  went  to  Boston,  and 
presented  a  petition.  That  petition  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  a  member  of  which 
from  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  boarded 
at  the  same  hotel  with  myself.  On  his  re- 
turn from  the  State  House,  after  his  ap- 
pointment, he  came  to  me  to  inquire  about 
the  College.  "Williams  College,"  said  he, 
"let  me  see,  Williams  College  is  somewhere 
on  the  North  River,  isn't  it  ? "     Of  course 


(18) 

there  was  little  chance  of  getting  money 
through  a  committee  composed  in  part  of 
such  material.  The  depression  continued 
till  two  years  after,  when  I  was  in  Boston 
delivering  a  course  of  the  Lowell  Lectures. 
At  that  time,  without  solicitation  or  sug- 
gestion from  me,  Mr.  Amos  Lawrence  sent 
his  son,  Mr.  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  to  me  with 
a  check  for  $5,000.  No  sum  given  to 
the  College  since  has  brought  such  relief 
to  my  mind.  Afterward,  when  riding  with 
Mr.  Lawrence,  he  asked  me  if  the  College 
needed  anything;  I  said  it  needed  a  build- 
ing for  a  library.  He  said  he  would  build 
it.  Again,  he  wrote  desiring  me  to  go  to 
Boston.  I  went :  he  said  he  had  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  that  he  wished  to  give  the 
College,  and  wanted  to  know  how  it  would 
do  the  most  good.  I  said,  by  giving  it  for 
general  purposes.  He  said  at  once,  "  It 
shall  be  so  given."  He  afterward  gave  the 
telescope.     Thus,  in  connection  with  an  in- 


(19) 

creasing  number  of  students  who  paid  tui- 
tion, that  cloud  was  gradually  lifted. 

The  second  crisis  was  caused  by  the  war, 
and  few  knew  the  peril  of  it.  In  six  months 
we  lost  about  sixty  students.  Prices  were 
doubled  and  trebled.  The  professors  could 
not  live  on  their  salaries,  and  but  for  an  un- 
expected gift  by  the  State  of  $25,000  a  year 
for  three  years,  provided  we  should  raise  an 
equal  sum,  I  do  not  see  how  the  College 
could  have  got  on.  That  gift  was  secured, 
in  connection  with  one  to  Cambridge,  by  the 
watchfulness  and  ability  of  Messrs.  Bower- 
man  and  Wilcox,  now  both  of  Pittsfield,  but 
then  members  of  the  State  Senate.  I  have 
always  felt  that  the  College  was  under  great 
obligation  to  them.  The  875,000  to  be 
raised  in  three  successive  years  by  sub- 
scription was  procured  by  my  personal 
solicitation.  I  found  it  could  be  raised 
in  no  other  way,  and  but  for  the  leverage 
furnished  by  the  gift  of  the  State  I  could 


(20) 

not  have  obtained  it.  Of  this,  the  largest 
amounts  given  at  any  one  time  were  three 
thousand  dollars  by  Mr.  Arthur  B.  Graves, 
and  also  by  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Wheeler,  both 
Alumni,  of  New  York.  Thus  this  cloud 
was  also  lifted. 

In  connection  with  these  references  to 
financial  embarrassment,  I  desire  to  mention 
with  gratitude,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Lawrence, 
the  other  great  benefactors  of  the  College 
in  my  day.  These  were  Mr.  Nathan  Jack- 
son, to  whom  we  owe  Jackson  Hall,  the 
president's  house  and  the  grounds  connected 
with  that ;  Mr.  Alfred  Smith,  of  Hartford, 
an  alumnus  of  the  College,  who  gave  $10,- 
000 ;  the  Hon.  J.  Z.  Goodrich,  who  gave 
Goodrich  Hall  and  a  landed  estate  in  New 
Jersey ;  Mr.  Orin  Sage,  who  founded  the 
Sage  Professorship  of  History  and  Political 
Economy ;  the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge, 
who,  with  no  intimation  or  knowledge  on 
my  part,  gave  $30,000,  the  interest  of  which 


(21) 

was  to  go  toward  my  salary  while  I  was 
president,  for  my  benefit  afterward,  and 
ultimately  as  a  presidential  fund ;  and  the 
Hon.  David  Dudley  Field,  the  only  one 
now  among  the  living,  who  gave  the  organ, 
endowed  the  Field  Memorial  Professorship, 
and  built  and  furnished  the  Field  Obser- 
vatory. Of  the  benefactors  of  the  College 
since  my  day,  as  Governor  Morgan,  Mr. 
Jermain,  and  others,  greatly  as  we  are  in- 
debted to  them,  I  cannot  now  worthily 
speak. 

After  the  crisis  caused  by  the  war,  the 
College  was  slowly  recovering  itself  till  my 
resignation  in  1872.  Since  then  its  pros- 
perity has  constantly  increased.  Through 
the  efficiency  of  President  Chadbourne, 
who  enlarged  and  beautified  the  chapel, 
and  through  the  able  and  very  successful 
administration  of  President  Carter,  the 
number  of  the  students  and  the  general  re- 
sources of  the  College  have  been  so  much 


(22) 

increased  that  it  now  invites  comparison 
with  the  best-equipped  institutions  of  the 
countiy. 

But  while  we  may  thus  look  back  with 
satisfaction  on  the  growth  of  the  College, 
we  may  find  still  greater  satisfaction  in 
looking  at  its  results  in  the  men  who  have 
gone  fi'om  it.  This  is  the  true  test  of  the 
value  of  an  institution.  These  men  have 
filled  every  position  of  honor,  from  the 
highest  in  the  gift  of  the  people  down- 
ward. About  one-third  of  them  have  been 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  about  one-fourth 
lawyers,  nearly  one-seventh  teachers,  and 
one-eleventh  physicians — leaving  but  six 
hundred  and  twenty-six,  including  the  re- 
cent classes,  who  have  not  entered  profes- 
sional life.  These  have  been  business  men 
and  farmers.  Of  the  whole  number  there 
are  but  few  who  have  not  made  a  good 
record.  These  men  have  wrought,  and  are 
working  now,  not  in  this  country  only,  but 


(23) 

in  tlie  remotest  lands,  and  are  powerfully- 
affecting  the  destinies  of  the  race. 

On  the  progress  of  the  College,  of  which 
I  have  now  spoken,  and  its  results,  I  con- 
gratulate the  Alumni  and  its  friends.  In 
that  progress  and  in  those  results  I  greatly 
rejoice.  This  may  well  be  supposed,  as  I 
see  in  it  a  prospect  of  the  permanence  and 
increasing  influence  of  an  institution  to 
which  my  life  has  been  devoted.  I  see  in 
it  a  nearer  approach  than  I  had  expected 
to  see  to  my  ideal  of  what  a  college  ought 
to  be.  That  ideal  is,  of  an  institution  where 
a  young  man,  during  the  critical  period  of 
transition  from  boyhood  to  manhood,  and 
even  later,  may  have  an  opportunity  to  do 
for  himself  the  best  that  he  can  do ;  and 
also  one  that  shall  do  for  every  such  young 
man  the  best  that  can  be  done  for  him. 

This  brings  us  to  the  point  around 
which  controversy  is  raging  at  present, 
which  is,  how  much  the  young  man  should 


(24) 

be  left  to  do  for  himself,  and  how  much 
the  institution  should  do  for  him.  On  this 
point  I  have  but  small  encouragement  to 
say  anything.  For,  if  I  should  go  beyond 
the  position  of  anyone  in  conservatism,  he 
would  say,  "  Of  course  one  of  his  age 
would  be  conservative.  He  would  natu- 
rally hold  on  to  old  ideas  and  methods." 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  should  go  beyond 
the  position  of  anyone  in  radicalism,  or 
the  desire  for  change,  he  would  say,  "  Ah, 
he  is  not  the  man  he  was  once."  This 
position  I  understand  and  accept.  Still  I 
may  venture  to  say  a  word,  apologizing, 
not  as  Elihu  did  in  the  days  of  Job,  for 
showing  his  opinion  though  he  was  young, 
but  for  showing  mine  though  I  am  old. 

In  an  institution  such  as  I  have  sup- 
posed, with  young  men  knowing  enough 
to  know  what  is  best  for  themselves  to  do, 
and  with  a  disposition  to  do  it,  four  re- 
sults would  be  aimed  at  and  attained. 


(25) 

The  first  result  would  be  a  sound  body. 
Barring  original  defects  in  the  constitu- 
tion, this  would  be  attained.  In  this  re- 
spect I  am  thankful  to  say  that  Williams 
College  now  meets  my  ideal  so  far  as  the 
new  gymnasium,  the  ground  for  athletics, 
and  its  surroundings  are  concerned.  By 
surroundings,  I  mean  these  mountains  by 
which  we  are  surrounded,  which  present 
to  those  who  have  in  them  any  love  of 
natural  scenery,  or  who  study  botany  or 
geology,  so  many  inducements  to  healthful 
exercise  in  the  open  air,  and,  when  the 
weather  is  fine,  are  the  best  gymnasium. 
A  sound  body  is  fundamental.  Will  the 
average  young  man  so  know  what  is  best 
for  himself,  and  be  so  disposed  to  do  it, 
that  it  may  not  be  best  for  the  institution 
to  interpose  at  some  point,  and  to  some  ex- 
tent?    I  suppose  not. 

A  second  thing  aimed  at  and  attained 
would  be  a  disciplined  mind.     By  this  I 


(26) 

mean  a  power  of  concentrated  attention 
for  a  long  time  on  one  subject.  I  do 
not  mean  the  power  to  hold  the  atten- 
tion thus  on  some  one  subject  to  which 
the  person  may  have  a  bent,  and  to  which 
the  tendency  may  become  so  strong  as  to 
mount  the  man  on  a  hobby,  or  to  become 
an  insanity,  but  I  mean  the  power  of  so 
commanding  the  mind  as  to  be  able  to  give 
concentrated  attention  to  any  subject  when 
it  is  required.  Only  thus  can  there  be 
profound  thought,  only  thus  can  all  the 
relations  of  a  subject,  within  and  without, 
be  seen.  Dr.  Emmons,  of  Franklin,  said  he 
wanted  a  student  who  could  look  fifteen 
minutes  at  the  point  of  a  cambric  needle 
without  winking.  This  power  is  attained 
with  difficulty.  It  is  in  the  exercise  of  it 
that  mental  labor  consists,  "  than  which," 
says  Dr.  Barrow,  "there  is  nothing  more 
laborious,  more  straining  nature,  and  more 
trying  our  spirits."     It  cannot  be  attained 


(27) 

by  light  reading.  That  rather  weakens  it. 
Nor  do  I  believe  it  would  be  attained  by 
the  average  student  by  a  wide  range  of 
option.  True,  we  attend  most  readily  to 
subjects  that  we  like ;  but  what  we  need  is 
a  mental  robustness  that  gives  the  power 
of  hard  study,  that  will  enable  us  to  attend 
to  subjects  which  we  do  not  like  at  first, 
which  we  never  should  choose,  to  master 
them,  and  so  to  come  to  enjoy  them. 
When  gold  lies  hidden  in  quartz,  no  mat- 
ter how  hard  the  quartz,  we  must  be  able 
to  break  it  up. 

A  third  thing  that  would  be  aimed  at 
and  attained  would  be  a  liberal  education. 
I  hold  strongly  to  the  distinction  common- 
ly made  between  a  liberal  education  and 
one  that  is  special  or  professional.  Blend 
they  may,  and  must,  more  or  less,  but  in  a 
broad  view  their  objects  are  different.  Of 
the  one,  the  object  is  breadth,  comprehen- 
siveness, symmetry ;  of  the  other,  concen- 


(28) 

tration.  Of  tte  one,  it  has  been  well  said 
the  object  is  to  know  something  of  every- 
thing ;  of  the  other,  to  know  everything  of 
something.  Of  the  one,  the  object  is  to 
make  of  the  young  man  more  of  a  man ;  of 
the  other,  to  make  of  him  more  of  a  min- 
ister, a  lawyer,  a  doctor,  an  engineer.  The 
one  is  born  of  a  conception  of  man  as  hav- 
ing an  intellect  that  is  related  to  all  knowl- 
edge, as  capable  of  pursuing  it  for  its  own 
sake,  of  thinking,  as  Kepler  said,  the 
thoughts  of  God,  of  finding  in  the  compre- 
hension of  His  works  and  word,  and  also  of 
abstract  relations,  as  those  of  mathematics, 
a  high  and  pure  joy,  and  of  entering  upon 
a  line  of  progress  that  cannot  be  limited 
by  time  or  space.  The  other  is  born  of  a 
conception  of  man  chiefly  as  he  is  related 
to  animal  wants,  and  to  social  and  political 
distinction.  The  affinities  of  the  one  are 
with  the  fine  arts ;  of  the  other,  with  the 
useful  arts.     And  what  is  thus  true  of  the 


(29) 

intellect  is  also  true  of  the  sensibility  as 
related  to  all  beauty.  Beauty  the  young 
man  should  be  taught  to  trace  to  its  source, 
to  appreciate  in  all  its  forms,  whether  of 
nature  or  of  art,  and  to  pursue  for  its  own 
sake.  Nor  is  it  for  the  sake  of  the  in- 
dividual alone  that  liberal  education  is 
needed.  Nothing  adds  so  much  to  the 
respectability,  and  security,  and  rational 
enjoyment  of  a  people  as  a  large  infusion 
of  this  element.  Such  an  education  cannot 
be  had  by  the  larger  numbers.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  present  life  preclude  the  pos- 
sibility of  that.  But  where  it  is  possible 
the  way  should  be  open  for  the  pursuit  of 
an  ideal  perfection  unrelated  to  animal 
want. 

But  knowing  the  object  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, we  need  also  to  know  the  studies 
best  fitted  to  insure  or  constitute  it.  At 
this  point  there  was  formerly  no  doubt. 
Those    studies   were    chiefly   the   classics, 


(30) 

mathematics,  and  logic.  But  now,  a  lib. 
eral  education,  involving,  as  it  does,  the 
power  to  survey  in  outline  the  whole  field 
of  knowledge,  and  to  follow  in  some  meas- 
ure every  line  of  thought,  must  be  quite  a 
different  thing  from  what  it  was  formerly. 
Science  has  so  marvellously  advanced, 
there  are  so  many  new  branches  of  knowl- 
edge, that  opinions  may  well  differ  respect- 
ing the  studies  that  should  occupy  the 
undergraduate  course,  which  would  best 
discipline  and  furnish  the  mind,  and  which 
should  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  liberal 
education.  To  decide  this  point,  including 
the  order  of  the  studies  as  they  are  related 
to  each  other  and  to  the  opening  powers 
of  the  student,  requires  wide  information 
and  sound  judgment ;  and  that  the  college 
should  decide  it  seems  to  me  due  to  itself, 
and  to  the  young  men  who  come  to  it.  If 
not  the  college,  who  then  ?  Is  it  said  the 
young  men   themselves   are  competent   to 


(31) 

do  it  ?  Whence  this  competency  ?  Not 
from  heredity,  for  their  fathers  did  not 
have  it,  and  certainly  not  from  experience 
or  study.  Some  option  there  should  be, 
especially  in  the  later  part  of  the  course 
and  in  outlying  branches  of  study,  as  mod- 
ern languages  and  the  higher  mathematics, 
and  music  and  drawing.  These  I  would 
have  provided  for  and  made  optional,  but 
would  admit  of  no  such  range  of  option 
as  to  make  graduation  possible  with  the 
omission  of  the  most  essential  parts  of  a 
liberal  education,  as  is  done  when  a  man 
can  graduate  without  studying  either 
mental  or  moral  science.  Nor  would  I,  by 
the  range  of  option,  so  vacate  the  college 
degree  of  any  definite  meaning  as  to  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  having,  as  we  now 
have,  a  body  of  liberally  educated  men 
throughout  the  country  standing  on  essen- 
tially the  same  ground.  Nor  would  I  so 
split   up    classes   into   miscellaneous   and 


(82) 

changing  bodies  as  to  lose  that  great  ad- 
vantage of  associate  study  in  a  college 
class  as  now  constituted,  by  which  a  young 
man  finds  his  own  level,  and,  if  he  is  con- 
ceited, has  the  conceit  taken  out  of  him. 
For  this  there  is  no  better  place  than  a 
college  class.  Nor,  once  more,  would  I  so 
widen  the  range  of  option  as  to  convert  a 
college  into  a  high-school.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  by  giving  a  wide  range  of 
option  in  undergraduate  studies  a  college 
approximates  a  university.  It  rather  ap- 
proximates a  high-school,  and  may  virtually 
become  one. 

Of  the  particular  studies  that  should  now 
be  regarded  as  constituting  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, and  of  their  order,  I  cannot  now 
speak.  My  views  on  this  point  are  essen- 
tially contained  in  an  admirable  article,  by 
Dr.  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  in  the  January 
number  of  the  New  Englander. 

A  fourth  thing  that  would  be  aimed  at, 


(33) 

and  generally  attained  under  the  conditions 
specified,  would  be  a  right  character. 

By  a  right  character  I  mean  one  that 
would  make  a  man  a  vital  co-operative 
force  in  all  that  would  tend  to  build  up 
society,  and  to  aid  in  the  onward  movement 
of  the  moral  government  of  God.  I  mean 
one  in  which  education  shall  flower  out, 
not  into  mere  knowledge,  but  into  a  divine 
wisdom.  Character  transcends  knowledge. 
Knowledge  is  instrumental,  character  is 
directive.  Knowledge  teaches  us  how  to 
do,  character  determines  what  we  will  do. 
It  is  a  man's  deepest  love,  and  will  de- 
termine his  ultimate  destiny.  Hence  the 
highest  form  of  benevolence  is  in  seeking 
to  improve  character.  This  is  the  object 
of  missions.  It  was  the  object  of  Christ. 
His  coming  was  a  testimony  to  the  value 
of  character.  He  who  apprehends  this 
value  clearly,  and  devotes  himself  with  en- 
ergy and  self-denial  to  its  improvement  in 


(34) 

himself  and  others,  is  the  highest  style  of 
man;  and  the  institution  that  does  most 
for  character  will  do  most  for  the  individual 
and  for  the  country.  Mere  teaching,  with- 
out formative  influence  on  character,  is 
simply  a  trade. 

But  can  education  insure  right  char- 
acter ?  No.  Character  is  not  from  the  in- 
tellect, but  from  the  will,  or  rather  from 
the  person  that  lies  back  of  the  will.  To 
the  old  question  whether  virtue  can  be 
taught,  we  say,  no.  Knowledge,  some 
knowledge,  may  be  forced  upon  us  ;  a  right 
character  cannot  be.  Still,  there  are  in- 
direct formative  influences,  and  the  educa- 
tion that  ignores  character  is  radically  de- 
fective. Whether  the  principle  that  leaves 
the  choice  of  studies  to  young  m%n  would 
also  leave  them  to  their  own  ways  in  the 
formation  of  character,  I  do  not  know. 
If  so,  it  is  to  be  regretted.  The  most 
important   question  a  man   can   ask,  who 


(35) 

has  a  son  to  educate,  would  respect  the  sur- 
roundings and  influences  that  bear  upon 
character. 

What,  then,  are  the  surroundings  and 
influences  that  bear  upon  character,  and 
what  should  they  be  ?  Into  these,  those 
things  that  constitute  the  equipment  for  in- 
tellectual education — buildings,  apparatus, 
libraries,  cabinets — enter  but  slightly,  if 
at  all.  The  first  thing  to  be  mentioned  is 
negative.  There  should  be,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  absence  of  temptation.  Tempta- 
tion must  come,  and  some  are  disposed  to 
rather  welcome  it  as  tending  to  form  a 
strong  character,  but  a  wise  parent  will 
heed  the  spirit  of  the  petition,  "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation."  That  character  in 
its  strict  sense  is  largely  affected  by  the 
surroundings  of  natural  scenery  I  am  not 
prepared  to  assert.  Character  is  moral, 
nature  is  not.  It  is  characteristics  rather 
than  character  that  are  thus  afEected.    Most 


(36) 

young  men  are  absorbed  in  other  things. 
Seeing,  they  see  not.  Still,  there  is  a  re- 
fining and  elevating  influence  in  fine  scenery 
that  will  reach  some  in  every  class.  Be- 
tween this  and  moral  influence  there  is  an 
affinity,  and  I  should  have  little  fear  for 
the  character  of  a  young  man  who  has  a 
genuine  love  of  nature. 

But  whatever  may  or  may  not  be  the 
effect  of  nature,  the  law  prevails,  here  as 
elsewhere,  that  like  produces  like.  "  He 
that  walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise." 
If  right  character  is  to  be  produced  in 
connection  with  an  institution,  it  must  be 
through  the  influence  of  those  who  have 
a  right  character.  This  influence  will  be 
either  unconscious  or  from  direct  and  pur- 
posed agency.  Of  these  two  forms,  the 
silent  influence  of  high  character,  moving 
steadily  as  the  sun  in  the  path  of  duty,  is 
invaluable.  This  is  so  far  understood  and 
conceded  that  it  need  not  be  dwelt  upon. 


(37) 

The  main  inquiry  respects  what  can  be 
done  by  direct  or  purposed  agency. 

Where  classes  are  not  too  large  much 
may  be  done  in  this  way  by  personal  inter- 
•course.  In  this  there  should  be  nothing 
magisterial,  of  which  there  was  formerly 
too  much.  It  should  be  natural  and  free. 
Everything  opposed  to  this  is  to  be  dep- 
recated. But  the  chief  influence  that 
-can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  character 
is  through  Christianity.  Manward,  Chris- 
tianity is  God's  method  of  renovating  and 
improving  character.  The  character  it 
would  form  is  the  only  perfect  character 
for  man ;  and  the  influences  connected  with 
it,  as  the  word  and  spirit  of  God,  are  the 
only  influences  that  will  lead  him  to  form 
such  a  character. 

That  Christianity  will  form  such  a 
character,  Tnust  form  it  if  fully  received, 
is  its  glory,  and  an  absolute  proof  of  its 
truth.     If,  therefore,  the  college  is  to  be 


(38) 

responsible  for  character  at  all,  and  is  not. 
bewildered,  it   must    avail  itself    of  this^ 
as  a  means  of  forming  it.     But  here,  too, 
the    rule    holds    that    character   is   from 
character.     No  formal  arrangement  with- 
out Christian  men,  no  having  or  saying  of 
prayers,  will  avail  anything  without  men 
whoj97'«y.     Christianity  is  not  a  mere  set 
of  dogmas.     It  is  Christ  revealed  in  His 
perfect  character.     He  is  the  head  of  the 
race.    He  is  not  only  the  light  of  the  world 
as  a  perfect  teacher  in  all  that  relates  to 
character  and  ultimate  destiny,  but  also  a 
perfect  example.     He  is  the  man.     In  His 
religion  is  the  hope  of  the  world.      The 
greatest  boon  that  can  come  to  anyone  is. 
to  be  brought  into  personal  relation  to  Him. 
and    sympathy  with   Him   by   voluntary 
commitment,  and  by   having   a   character- 
like His. 

Herein  is   the   difference   between  the 
place  of  Chiistianity  in  a  theological  semi- 


(39) 

nary  and  in  a  college.  In  a  college  it  should 
be  so  handled  as  to  bear  upon  character 
without  sectarianism.  This  can,  and  ought 
to  be,  done.  Christianity  is  the  greatest 
civilizing,  moulding,  uplifting  power  on 
this  globe,  and  it  is  a  sad  defect  in  any  in- 
stitution of  high  learning  if  it  does  not 
bring  those  under  its  care  into  the  closest 
possible  relation  to  it,  so  far  as  it  is  such  a 
power.  Through  it  the  students  are  to  be 
trained  in  moral  and  spiritual  gymnastics. 
Why  should  not  manhood,  and  conscience, 
and  Christianity  become  identical,  and  assert 
themselves  fully  in  every  young  man  who 
has  the  great  opportunity  of  a  college 
education  ?  Why  not  ?  We  here  reach 
the  broadest  and  most  philosophical  con- 
ception of  education.  It  includes  the  whole 
man.  If  man  is  to  be  educated  physically 
and  intellectually  because  he  has  a  physical 
and  intellectual  nature,  why  should  he  not 
be  educated  and  trained  morally  and  spirit- 


(40) 

ually  because  he  lias  a  moral  and  spiritual 
nature  ?  I  see  no  reason  why  there  should 
not  be  in  a  college,  and  enter  into  the  very 
conception  of  it,  those  who  are  engaged  in 
the  higher  gymnastics.  If  men  are  to  be 
trained  to  be  strong  in  muscle,  why  not  to 
be  "  strong  in  the  Lord  ?  "  If  to  wrestle 
with  each  other,  why  not  with  "  wicked- 
ness ?  "  If  to  carry  on  mimic  fights  in 
boxing,  why  not  to  "  fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith  ?  "  If  to  gain  the  crown  of  victory 
in  contests  with  each  other,  why  not  "  an 
incorruptible  crown  ?  "  If  to  run  races  in 
the  gymnasium  and  on  the  campus,  why 
not  to  run  the  race  that  is  set  before  them 
in  which  they  are  "  compassed  about  with 
so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses  ?  "  Why,  in 
short,  if  they  are  to  be  trained  in  bodily 
exercise  that  "  profiteth  little,"  should  they 
not  be  trained  in  "  godliness  that  is  profit- 
able unto  all  things  ?  "  This  broad  con- 
ception of  education  has  been  the  concep- 


(41) 

tion  of  it  in  this  College  in  the  past.  If 
not  formally  recognized,  it  has  pervaded 
its  atmosphere.  It  has  made  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  and  missionaries,  and  has  had 
a  general  uplifting  power.  It  is  the  con- 
ception of  education  here  to-day.  I  trust 
it  will  continue  to  be.  If  not,  the  glory  of 
the  College  will  have  departed.  If  this 
College  shall  drop  down  into  a  merely 
secular  spirit,  and  a  training  of  the  lower 
parts  of  man's  nature,  so  that  it  shall  cease 
to  be  in  sympathy  with  Him  whose  object 
it  is  to  train  to  a  perfect  character  that 
world  which  is  symbolized  on  the  mission- 
ary monument,  it  will  no  longer  he  Will- 
iams College. 

A  sound  body,  a  disciplined  mind,  a  lib- 
eral education,  a  right  character — these 
ought  to  be  the  result  of  a  four  years' 
course  in  college.  As  an  institution  de- 
signed to  give  these,  just  these  and  nothing 
more,  the  American  college  is  the  growth 


(42) 

of  American  soil,  and  ought  to  be  main- 
tained. These  it  will  give  if  the  young 
men  are  disposed  to  do  for  themselves  the 
best  that  they  can  do ;  and  if  the  college 
have  the  means  to  do,  and  will  do,  the  best 
that  can  be  done  for  them. 

For  young  men  rightly  disposed,  we  must 
look  to  the  community.  A  college  is  not  a 
reformatory.  If  parents  do  their  duty  the 
young  men  will  generally  be  rightly  dis- 
posed. For  a  college  so  equipped  and 
manned  that  it  can  and  will  do  for  the 
young  men  all  that  can  be  done  for  them,  a 
model  college,  which  is  all  that  1  desire — 
just  that  and  nothing  more — we  must  look 
to  the  liberality  and  wisdom  of  its  Alumni, 
and  friends  and  guardians.  For  its  whole 
prosperity,  and  especially  for  its  moral 
and  religious  power,  that  is,  its  power  over 
character,  we  must  look  to  God.  "  Except 
He  build  the  house  they  labor  in  vain  that 
build  it." 


(43) 

I  close,  with  a  thanksgiving  to  God  that 
He  has  preserved  my  life  for  so  long  a  time, 
and  my  faculties  to  such  an  extent ;  and 
with  thanks  to  the  Alumni  for  overlook- 
ing as  they  have  my  mistakes  and  short- 
comings, and  for  their  uniform  considera- 
tion and  kindness. 


AN  OUTLINE  STUDY  OF  MAN;  or,  the  Body 
and  Mind  in  One  System.  With  illustrative  diagrams. 
By  Mark  Hopkins,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  President  of  Williams 
College.     I  vol.,  i2mo,  $1.75. 

Few  colleges  owe  so  much  to  the  influence  of  a  single  man  as 
the  institution,  with  which  Dr.  Hopkins  has  so  long  been  identi- 
fied, owes  to  his  genius  for  instruction  and  to  the  weight  of  his 
character.  His  power  of  making  abstuse  and  difficult  matters 
clear  and  easily  mastered,  of  interesting  and  stimulating  his  pupils 
and  of  impressing  them  with  his  own  lofty  views,  have  given 
him  an  almost  unique  position  as  an  educator. 

Among  all  his  works,  that  which  illustrates  best  his  peculiar 
lucid  mode  of  teaching  difficult  subjects  is  An  Outline  Study  of 
Man,  which  is  a  model  of  the  developing  method  as  applied  to 
intellectual  science  The  work  is  on  an  entirely  new  plan.  It 
presents  man  in  his  unity,  and  his  several  faculties  and  their  rela- 
tions are  so  presented  to  the  eye  in  illustrative  diagrams  as  to  be 
readily  apprehended. 

Dr.  Hopkins'  work  has  come  into  more  general  use  in  this 
country  than  any  other  book  designed  for  instruction  in  mental 
science.  It  has  been  found  to  be  better  adapted  for  educational 
uses  than  any  other,  and  the  demand  for  it  is  increasing  every  year. 


THE    LAW    OF    LOVE,  AND    LOVE   AS    A   LAW; 
or,  Christian  Ethics,     i  vol.,  i2mo,  $1.75. 

This  work  is  designed  to  follow  the  author's  Outline  Study  of 
Man.  As  its  title  indicates  it  is  entirely  an  exposition  of  the 
cardinal  precept  of  Christian  philosophy  in  harmony  with  nature 
and  on  the  basis  of  reason. 

Like  the  treatise  on  mental  philosophy  it  is  adapted  with  un- 
usual skill  to  educational  uses. 

It  appears  in  a  new  edition,  which  has  been  in  part  rewritten 
in  order  to  bring  it  into  closer  relation  to  his  Outline  Study  of 
Man,  of  which  work  it  is  really  a  continuation.  More  prominence 
has  been  given  to  the  idea  of  Rights,  but  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  the  treatise  have  not  been  changed.  The  very  interesting  cor- 
respondence with  Dr.  McCosh  is  retained. 

From  an  able  review  of  the  work  on  its  first  appearance  we 
quote  the  following : 

"In  this  work  Dr.  Hopkins  has  given  the  world  a  clear_ exposition  of  the 
principles  of  moral  science,  and  practical  rules  for  their  application.  The  sim- 
plicity, strength,  and  exactness  of  its  style  and  language;  its  discriminating 
analysis  and  forcible  logic ;  its  accurate  adjustments  of  relative  truths ;  its 
admirable  blending  of  the  independence  of  human  reason  with  dependence 
upon  the  Divine  mind  ; — in  al  1  these  respects  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
its  combined  excellences  place  the  work  at  the  head  of  all  similar  treatises  " 


BOOKS     AND     READING.     A  new  edition.     By  Noah 

Porter,  LL.D.,  President  of  Yale  College.    With  an  appendix 

giving  valuable  directions  for  courses  of  reading,  prepared  by 

James  M.  Hubbard,  late  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,    i  voL, 

crown  8vo,  $2.00. 

It  would  be  diflBcult  to  name  any  American  better  qualified  than  President 
Porter  to  give  advice  upon  the  important  question  of  "  What  to  Read  and  How 
to  Read."  His  acquaintance  with  the  whole  range  of  English  literature  is  most 
thorough  and  exact,  and  his  judgments  are  eminently  candid  and  mature.  A 
safer  guide — in  short,  in  all  literary  matters— it  would  be  impossible  to  find. 

"The  great  value  of  the  book  lies  not  in  prescribing  courses  of  reading, 
but  in  a  discussion  of  principles,  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  valuable 
systematic  reading." — The  Christian  Standard. 

"  Young  people  who  wish  to  know  what  to  read  and  how  to  read  it,  or  how 
to  ptirsue  a  particular  course  of  reading,  cannot  do  better  than  begin  with  this 
book,  which  is  a  practical  guide  to  the  whole  domain  of  literature,  and  is  full  of 
wise  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  the  mind." — Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

"President  Porter  himself  treats  of  all  the  leading  departments  of  litera- 
ture of  course  with  abundant  knowledge,  and  with  what  is  of  equal  importance 
to  him,  with  a  very  definite  and  serious  purpose  to  be  of  service  to  inexperl- 
«nced  readers.  There  is  no  better  or  more  interesting  book  of  its  kind  now 
wi  thin  their  reach."— '.&iit&;x  Advertiser. 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 

ELEMENTS  OF  INTELLECTUAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

A  Manual  for  Schools  and  Colleges.     Abridged  from  "  The 
Human  Intellect."     i  vol.,  8vo,  $3,00, 

This  work  is  used  as  a  text  book  in  Yale,  Dartmouth,  Bowdoin,  Oberlin, 
Bates,  Hamilton,  Vassar,  and  Smith  Collies ;  Wesleyan,  Ohio,  Lehigh,  and 
Wooster  Universities,  and  many  other  collies,  academies,  normal  and  high 
schools. 


ELEMENTS  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE,  Theoretical  and 
Practical,     i  vol,,  8vo,  $3.00. 

From  George  S.Morris,  Professor  of  Ethics,  Universitjf  (^  Michigan. 

"  I  have  read  the  work  with  great  interest,  and  parts  of  it  with  enthusiasm. 
It  is  a  vast  improvement  on  any  of  the  current  text  books  of  ethics.  It  is  tole- 
rant and  catholic  in  tone  ;  not  superficially,  but  soundly,  inductive  in  method 
and  tendency,  and  rich  in  that  kind  of  practical  suggestion  by  which,  even 
more  than  by  the  formal  statement  of  rules,  the  formation  of  character  is 
-capable  of  being  determined." 

From  E.  G.  Robinson,  President  0/  Brown  University. 
"  It  has  all  the  distinguishing  marks  of  the  author's  work  on  '  The  Human 
Intellect,'  is  full  and  comprehensive  in  its  treatment,  dealing  largely  with 
current  discussions,  and  very  naturally  follows  it  as  a  text  book  for  the 
class  room." 


PROF.  G.  P.  FISHER'S  WORKS. 


THE  GROUNDS  OF  THEISTIC  AND  CHRISTIAN 
BELIEF.  I  vol.,  crown  8vo,  $2.50, 
The  need  of  a  new  book  on  Evidences  to  replace  the  older  treatises,  which 
do  not  meet  the  wants  of  the  present  time,  is  universally  admitted.  Prof. 
Fisher  possesses  eminent  qualifications  for  supplying  this  need  in  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  all  the  later  thinking  on  the  subject  and  an  extensive  acquaint- 
ance with  the  arguments  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  combined  with  a  power 
of  condensation  and  a  clear,  attractive  style. 

Front  a  Letter  of  Julius  H.  Seelye,  President  of  Amherst  College. 
"  I  find  it  as  I  should  expect  it  to  be,  wise  and  candid,  and  convincing  to 
an  honest  mind.      I  congratulate  you  upon  its  publication,  in  which  you  seem 
to  me  to  have  rendered  a  high  public  service." 

From  Prof.  James  O.  Murray,  of  Princeton  College,  in  the  N.  V.  Evangelist. 
"The  volume  under  review  meets  here  a  great  want,  and  meets  it  well. 
It  is  eminently  fitted  to  meet  the  honest  doubts  of  some  of  our  best  young  men. 
.  .  .  .  Its  fairness  and  candor,  its  learning  and  ability  in  argument,  its 
thorough  handling  of  »/«/?r«  objections — all  these  qualities  fit  it  for  such  a 
service,  and  a  great  service  it  is." 

From  the  Congregationalisi. 
"  We  hope  that  this  treatise  will  be  widely  scattered  and  diligently  studied. 
It  is  wholly  in  the  right  direction.     It  is  liberal  without  being  loose,  learned 
without    being  dry,  conclusive  without    being    assuming,  and  indicates  its 
author's  place  among  the  ablest  writers  of  the  day  on  Christian  themes." 

ESSAYS  ON  THE  SUPERNATURAL  ORIGIN  OF 
CHRISTIANITY.  ivol.,8vo,  new  and  enlarged  edition, 
$3.00. 

From  the  North  American  Rei'iew. 
"Able  and  scholarly  essays  on  the  Supernatural  Origin  of  Christianity, 
in  which  Prof.  Fisher  discusses  such  subjects  as  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospel 
of  John,  Baur's  view  of  early  Christian  History  and  Literature,  and  the  mythi- 
cal theory  of  Strauss." 

From  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 
"  The  entire  work  is  one  of  the  noblest,  most  readable,  most  timely  and 
effective  in  our  apologetic  literature,  which  has  appeared  at  the  present  day." 

From  the  Neiu  York  Tribune. 
"The  author  seems  equally  at  home  in  every  department  of  his  subject. 
They  are  all  treated  with  learning,  with  insight,  with  sense,  and  discrimina- 
tion. His  volume  evinces  rare  versatility  of  intellect,  with  a  scholarship  no 
less  sound  and  judicious  in  its  tone  and  extensive  in  its  attainments  than  it  is 
modest  in  its  pretensions." 

From  the  British  Quarterly  Review. 
"We  know  not  where  the  student  will  find  a  more  satisfactory  guide  in 
relation  to  the  great  questions  which  have  grown  up  between  the  friends  of 
the  Christian  revelation  and  the  most  able  of  its  assailants,  within  the  memory 
of  the  present  generation.  .  .  .  To  all  these  topics  the  author  has  brought 
a  fullness  of  learning,  a  masculine  discernment,  and  a  sturdy  impartiality 
which  we  greatly  admire." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.  "  A  Popular 
Manual  for  Instruction  and  Study."  i  vol.,  crown  8vo,  new 
and  cheaper  edition,  $2.50. 

From  the  Christian  Union. 

"The  book  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  that  power  of  lucid  condensation 
which  its  author  possesses  in  a  high  degree.  .  .  .  The  quality  of  condensed- 
ness  renders  it  worthy  to  be  studied,  not  merely  read ;  and  it  would  be  excel- 
lent as  a  text  book  in  college.  The  references  are  fiiU  and  valuable,  and  the 
chronological  table  and  list  of  authentic  will  be  appreciated  by  all  students." 

From  Prof.  Charles  A.  Aiken,  D.D.,  Princeton  Theological  Seminary . 

"Professor  Fisher's  History  of  the  Reformation  presents  the  results  of 
prolonged,  extended,  and  exact  study,  with  those  excellent  qualities  of  style 
which  are  so  characteristic  of  him— clearness,  smoothness,  judicial  feimess, 
vividness,  felicity  in  arranging' material,  as  well  as  in  grouping  and  delineating 
characters.  It  must  become  not  only  a  library  fevorite,  but  a  popular 
manual,  where  such  a  work  is  required  for  instruction  and  study,  For  such 
uses  it  seems  to  me  admirably  adapted." 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  CHRlisTIANITY.  With  a 
view  of  the  state  of  the  Roman  World  at  the  Birth  of  Christ. 
I  voL,  8yo,  f3.oo. 

From  the  Botton  Advertiser. 
"  ProC  Fisher  has  displayed  in  this,  as  in  his  previous  published  writings, 
that  catholicity  and  that  calm  judicial  quality  of  mind  which  are  so  indispens- 
able to  a  true  historical  critic." 

From  the  Examiner. 
"The  volume  is  not  a  dry  repetition  of  well-known  &cts.     It  bears  the 
marks  of  original  research.    Every  page  glows  with  freshness  of  material  and 
choice&ess  of  diction." 

From  the  Evangelist. 
"  The  volume  contains  an  amount  of  information  that  makes  it  one  of  the 
most  useful  of  treatises  for  a  student  in  philosophy  and  theology,  and  must 
secure  for  it  a  place  in  his  library  as  a  standard  authority." 

DISCUSSIONS  IN  HISTORY  AND  THEOLOGY. 
I  vol.,  8vo,  $3.00. 

"  Pro£  Fisher  has  gathered  here  a  number  of  essays  on  subjects  connected 
with  these  departments  of  study  and  research  which  have  engaged  his  special 
attention,  and  in  which  he  has  made  himself  an  authority. 

FAITH  AND  RATIONALISM,  i  voL,  i2mo,  new  and 
cheaper  edition,  75  cents. 

From  the  New  York  Times. 
"This  little  volume  may  be  regarded  as  virtually  a  primer  of  modem 
religious  thought,  which  contains  within  its  condensed  pages  rich  materials 
that  are  not  easily  gathered  from  the  great  volumes  of  our  theological  authors." 
From  the  Presbyterian. 
"  The  author  deals  with  many  of  the  questions  of  the  day,  and  does  so  with 
a  freshness  and  completeness  quite  admirable  and  attractive." 

THE   CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.       i  vol.,   i6mo,  cloth, 
50  cents  net. 
"This  masterly  essay  of  Prof.  Fisher  is  one  of  the  best  arguments  for 
Christianity  that  could  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  have  come  under 
the  influence  of  sceptical  writers." 


DATE  DUE 


CAYLORO 

miMTCOINU   S.A. 

